Utrecht · approx. 10 km from Utrecht
Sealant work in Vleuten
Vleuten was an independent village and at its core still is, but around it, from the late nineties onwards, one of the largest new-build areas in the Netherlands has risen. That means two kinds of sealant work side by side here: maintenance of old window frames in the ribbon, and the first round of replacing the sealant applied at handover in the districts around it.
Since 1959
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What matters in Vleuten
A village centre wedged between new build
An old village centre with ribbon development and the area around the church, and around that large-scale new build from the period from 1998 onwards.
In the old ribbon stand buildings of varying ages with timber window frames, putty and glazing that has sometimes been in for decades; there every building is bespoke work and you measure up each window frame separately. In the new build around it everything is the same: whole streets with the same window frames, usually plastic or powder-coated aluminium, from the same construction run. Those homes are now twenty-five years old, and that is precisely the point at which the original connection joint between window frame and brickwork has lost its elasticity, even though the window frame still looks as good as new.
What is special about Vleuten is that within a few hundred metres you go from bespoke work to work by the metre. In the ribbon every building determines its own approach; in the new build you can do a whole street the same way. For residents of the new build that means something concrete: the neighbours have the same problem at the same time, and having it done together brings the price per home down considerably.
In the old ribbon the street is narrow and there are few places to leave a van without obstructing traffic; we arrange that in advance. In the new build it is the other way round: wide streets, parking courts and usually room outside the door. There is, however, more often a rear path there that we cannot reach with the van, so when you make your request, let us know whether the work is at the front or the back.
Ten kilometres from our base, which makes it one of the nearest places in our area. The call-out fee here is among the lowest we charge, and we also come for a single bathroom. For business work in the new-build districts it means we can run without any travel time worth mentioning and do not get squeezed if the work runs over.
What we do in Vleuten
- Bathroom, sanitary & kitchenSealing of sanitary ware, showers, baths, washbasins and kitchens.
- Window frames & glazingNeat, durable sealant work around window frames and glass.
- Facades & structural jointsFacade joints, connection joints and expansion joints in floors and walls.
- Swimming pool & wellnessSealant work in swimming pools, saunas, steam rooms and spas.
- Renovation & maintenanceSealant work during renovation, repairs and periodic maintenance.
- Specialist sealant workFor specific requirements and specialist applications.
You will hear from us within 15 minutes on working days, and the work comes with a 2-year guarantee.
The work here
What we do most often in Vleuten
Connection joints in the new build
Plastic and aluminium window frames expand considerably in the sun, and the joint between window frame and brickwork has been through that every day for twenty-five years. It has gone hard and comes away from one flank, and then water gets behind the window frame. We replace it with a product that adheres to that material and can cope with that daily stretch.
More about this serviceMaintenance in the old ribbon
In the older buildings the sealing around the glass is often still original. It has hardened, shrunk and comes away at the edges, and then water is drawn along the pane into the rebate. We take that edge out without damaging the glass and check whether the timber underneath is still sound enough to adhere to.
More about this serviceBathrooms of the first residents
New-build bathrooms from the first handover are by now a quarter of a century old, and with that well past the lifespan of their sealant work. Black edges in the corners are mould in the material and not on it; scrubbing only removes the top layer. The joint out, the corner completely dry, and a sanitary sealant in.
More about this serviceHow we approach it here
Which sealant on what, and what it costs
The substrate decides the sealant
The two parts of Vleuten really do call for different products. In the new build the flanks are smooth: plastic and powder-coated aluminium, to which an ordinary facade sealant does not adhere for long and where the expansion in the sun is large. There we choose for adhesion to that specific material and for stretch. The brickwork next to it is modern, hard and not very absorbent, so a primer is usually not needed, but the cut face does have to be clean and free of dust. In the old ribbon you come across painted timber, where the sealant adheres to the paint layer rather than to the timber, and sometimes softer brickwork that does call for pre-treatment. What is needed only becomes clear once the old joint is out and we can assess the flank.
Costs and lead time
The quote is based on metres, accessibility and taking out the old joint. In the new build that is easy to predict: identical homes, identical details, so a fixed price per address and a lower price per home as soon as several neighbours join in. In the ribbon it depends more on what comes out from under the old sealing; there we give a range and not a single figure. For a bathroom we generally allow half a day. Curing is separate from the working time but determines when you can use the room again; you get that period when the work is scheduled.
Two routes
Business or homeowner in Vleuten
For property managers and contractors working in the new-build districts, this is favourable work: hundreds of homes from the same construction run, with identical window frame details, close together. One site survey per house type is enough, and that keeps the price per metre keen. We join in a planned maintenance round or take on only the sealant part, and hand over images per address so that what has been done can be accounted for to residents.
For businesses
Contractors, painters, homeowners' associations, property managers and interior fit-out.
See what we do for businessesQuestions from Vleuten
What people in Vleuten ask most often
My window frame is plastic. Does that not need any maintenance?
The window frame itself hardly any, indeed, but the joint around it does. That is precisely why it is so often skipped: the window frame still looks good after twenty-five years, so people assume the whole facade is in order. Meanwhile the sealant in between has expanded every warm day and shrunk every cold night, and that costs elasticity. It goes hard and comes away on one side, usually at the top where you do not see it.
The whole street was built at the same time. Can we do it together?
In Leidsche Rijn and Vleuterweide that is exactly the smartest way. The homes come from the same construction run, so they have the same window frames and the same sealant from the same year: the problem is identical at the neighbours'. You then pay the fixed part of our price once for several addresses instead of per home, and the work goes faster because after the first home we know what we will come across. Mention it when you make your request.
Is the work at the front or the back, and does that matter?
For the price, sometimes it does. In many new-build districts there is a rear path that we cannot reach with the van, and then we carry material and tools a fair way round. That takes time and we include it, but visibly and in advance. When you make your request, tell us where the work is and whether there is a gate or a back entrance; then the quote is right straight away instead of us having to adjust something on the spot.
Roughly what does it cost for a mid-terrace house?
That depends on the number of linear metres and whether only the front facade or the back as well is included. We do not name an amount here; we work that out per request, so that we never have to correct anything. What we can say: for a mid-terrace house in the new build you are generally talking about one working day for all the connection joints all round. You get the amount in advance, call-out included, and not as a surprise afterwards.
Can new sealant go over the old?
No, sealant does not adhere to sealant. Whatever is smeared over it comes loose within a year, and then you are left with two layers that have to come out instead of one. It is the most common DIY repair we come across, and it makes the work more expensive instead of cheaper. The old joint has to come out completely, the flanks have to be clean down to a sound substrate, and only then can something new go in that stays put.
